An absent-minded professor's blog.

Anawangin Day 1: Camping at the Cove

This was the long awaited ABMA43 trip. Long awaited because we kept planning trips that never saw the light of day. Hehe. It was a good thing that Tin and Leng organized the entire trip, which was how it pushed through.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it because come Friday morning (November 26), my back, which had already been aching the night before, went on full blown pain parade. I could barely walk and when I did attempt to walk, I ended up toppling everything else but the walls. I had already asked for Salon Pas and other pain relievers to be brought and had my sister and Cris sitting on my back. Thankfully my back started cooperating by 9PM.

The trip to Zambales began at 11:30PM, when we went on board a Victory Liner bus in Pasay. We arrived at the Anawangin Cove at around 5:30AM of November 27. Jenn, Vince, Cris and I shared a boat named Robert 2. I accidentally deleted the only decent photo I have of Robert 2…which had some sort of a ghost-like apparition beside it.

Anyway, on with the photo blog before I give tips. Hehe.

This is the only photo I have of our arrival. Hm. It helps if the person beside you is using flash. This is like…second-hand flash because it didn’t come directly from Shin-Chan2.

Beautiful dawn. This is the only beach I’ve been to that had pine trees. There were actually very few coconut trees.

We immediately buzzled with activity, setting up camp upon reaching the shore.

Breakfast! This was after an hour or two of dozing off.

The only snack I kept eating at the island. This costs about PhP20 and is actually pretty yummy. The ice cream is made in Zambales, I think.

This Sari-Sari store is open 24 hours. If the heat is killing you, blocks of ice are readily available.

Our breakfast, rice and sardines. Jerrah and Tin actually cooked more dishes later on, but I forgot to take photos of the adobo, liempo, grilled fish…

Anyway, funny thing about all this is that, while I was looking for a hint of an Anawangin itinerary online, I accidentally landed on Lauren‘s old old blog. I wasn’t quite sure that it was Lauren’s because she had short hair in the photos. I recognized her smile, though. In the blog, she showed an almost horrifying photo of Anawangin’s make-shift toilets. (I say “almost” because I had been through a summer immersion program through UP’s Ugnayan ng Pahinungod back in college. I can say that the “toilets” there require that you are accompanied by someone who can hold up a malong well. It actually took me quite a few days before I could muster the courage to use those holes on the ground.)

Seeing these, after reading Lauren’s experience, was such a pleasant surprise.

These stalls are actually for bathing. You still have to fetch water for these because showers do not exist.

These are the new toilets. There’s actually one very clean and very modern-looking toilet among these but that was kept locked. I didn’t have Shin-Chan2 with me when it was finally opened. I suspect only the special guests use it.

Honestly, I was tempted to pee in the bushes because of all the water fetching going on in there. There were times that a lot of people would use up all the water.

This is the highlight of Day 1. While everyone else went swimming, Cris and I decided to look for the “cave” that Vince was talking about.

This is why it’s not advisable to go further if your sandals can’t grip properly. The water suddenly becomes deep.

Left: This was as high up as I could go.

Right: I already asked Cris to stay where she was because it was easier to climb up. Climbing down was another thing entirely, especially since I didn’t have a harness.

Resting while the clouds hovered over us. Oh, this nipa hut is very comfy. I slept half the day away here. This is also where Cris and I spent the night (on opposite benches) because the tents felt unbearably warm. I told Caloi to take over our tent when he started feeling cold from sleeping on the hammock.

This is what the rest of the gang did when they were done with swimming.

Jerrah was the ever devoted nanay to all of us. She was such a dedicated cook.

Our group had two hammocks in all. Only Vince and Ryo could fit in them. -_-;

Speaking of the hammocks, our boys got harassed by a couple of gay men in the middle of the night. Burn was on the hammock and Vince was in the hut when these two separate incidents happened. None of the girls got harassed but there was a midnight incident…which I’ll talk about later.

Pinoy Henyo, boys versus girls. The boys kept thinking up of gross words while the girls kept thinking of abstract and intangible concepts.

This is what happens if you lose. You get a lipstick mark anywhere on your face.

I guess my sunset shots look generic (Keane Labausa has the best sunset shots in our group), but I suppose they never fail to move me.

Cris teaching the boys how to set up a camp fire.

This is what we had for pre-dinner, hotdogs and smores. I love this idea, really.

We retired early for the night, but I was awakened by some drunken ruckus. I also had the urge to pee but I was torn between wanting to pee and wanting to pick a fight. Cris and Caloi warned me not to do anything stupid because these were drunken arse wipes. All I can do now is just…well, I have their photos. We took note of their faces, so if anyone is interested (you might come across these lowlives sometime in the near future), you can simply contact me for their photos. One of them was wearing a Jersey with the number 4. Arse wipe.

Anyway, if you’re planning to go camping in Anawangin, here are some tips I can offer:

Bring at least PhP2K. The Victory Liner bus ride is about PhP350 for a one-way trip from Pasay. As far as I know, there are two Victory Liner terminals along Edsa. One is in Cubao and the other one is in Pasay. The rest, well, there might be some stuff you’d feel like buying on the island. Other expenses:

Trike to AND from Pundaquit (where the boats are) – P30 x 2 = PhP60 per head

Boat ride, includes island hopping – approximately PhP365 per head

Camping rate – PhP100 per head

Nipa Hut – PhP300 per hut

Other expenses – relative, since we spent on ice blocks, bottles of Coke, and binged on ice cream.

Bus fare from San Antonio to Cubao Victory Liner Terminal = PhP250+. You’re going to be a chance passenger here. You can ask to be dropped off at Olongapo and change buses if you want to go to the Pasay terminal.

Essentials, in addition to what you’d regularly bring on a trip: Mosquito repeller, facial wipes (perfect for removing all the grime you will accumulate), alcohol, sachets of liquid soap and shampoo for easy disposal, flash light with extra batteries…a huge cane to hit drunken b*stards with?

I’ll try to post about the rest of the trip tomorrow. That was where the most exciting part of our trip lay.

About The Author

Doc B is a crazy cat lady, a former behavioral scientist turned video game producer, and a full professor. She is an INFJ who is married to an INTJ software engineer. You can grab a copy of her book by clicking the book thumbnail below.